Revolving trunk



Patented Nov. 2, 1937 UNHTE STATES PATENT OFFIE REVOLVIN G TRUNK Application March 23, 1936, serial No. 70,230'

1 Claim.

The present invention relates in general to improvements in revolving trunks, and relates more specically to an improved mounting for rotat- Y ably supporting a trunk or other type of con- 55 tainer so as to permit turning movement thereof for convenient access tol the doors or closure members for access to the interior of the container.

n Heretofore several dilerent forms of rotary lo'supports for trunks have been provided. In one instance the support consisted of a circular bottorn member adapted to rest upon the floor and carrying a metallic lower bearing' plate provided with a central hub which coacted with a bore in S-a rotary upper plate secured to the lower end wall of the trunk, and ball bearings were interposed between these upper and lower relatively rotatable plates. This form of construction had certain disadvantages including the necessity for ,f a space between said plates for the accommodation of the ball bearings whereby the supporting structure was too high and interfered with the stability of the supported trunk.

Some of the objections were overcome by another structure wherein a series of rollers were attached directly to the lower wall of the trunk and were revoluble therewith to coact with the upper surface of a base plate. This construction was less heavy and bulky than the rst-mentioned construction and permitted the base plate to be disposed closer to the wall of the trunk. However, the base of the trunk was still elevated somewhat and the structure had objections so far as stability was concerned.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a rotary support for a revolving trunk in which antifriction devices are interposed between a lower plate and a plate in the bottom of the trunk, aixed to one of said members and are embedded in recesses therein to coact with the surface of the other of said members, whereby the rotary support is extremely compact and the load is lowered, greatly enhancing the stability of the entire structure.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a rotary support wherein the vertical height of the supporting structure is decreased, Without any sacrifice in the thickness of the plate which rides on the anti-friction devices.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rotary support for revolving trunks wherein rollers are utilized and the same are mounted in and affixed to the lower plate and contact the Surface of an upper plate, the trunk being maintained centrally of the lower plate by a simple pivot bolt which is readily exteriorly accessible and makes for ease in the assembly of the device. The lower ends of trunks are usually provided with supporting feet or` projections, and in the present invention said feet are cupped and depend from the lower plate and cooperate in the provision of means ior the reception of antifriction members on which the trunk turns, whereby space is saved, height is minimized, and the thickness of the bearing and turning members is not affected.

l Aclear conception of an embodiment of the invention,v and of the mode of constructing and of utilizing revolving trunk structures built in accordance with the improvement, may be had by referring tol the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specication in which like reference characters designate the same or simim lar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a top view of a standard two comd partment trunk having they improved mounting applied thereto, the compartment doors or clo.- sures being shown in closed position in full lines, and in partially open positions in broken lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the lower portion of the trunk and mounting, taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the trunk and its mounting;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the lower plate member removed from the trunk and looking at the inner or top face thereof; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, detail, sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

While the invention has been illustrated herein as being specifically applied to a standard two compartment trunk, it is not intended to limit the scope by such specific disclosure, and some of the novel features may obviously be more generally applicable.

The container or trunk comprises in general a box-like structure consisting of side walls 6, a sectional top 1, a bottom member 3, a central vertical partition 9 dividing the trunk into oppositely disposed compartments, and doors or closures lll for permitting access to the several compartments. The xed section of the top may be provided with a handle Il, and each of the closures I0 is hingedly attached to the adjacent side Wall 6 and is provided with one or more latches l2 cooperable with the other side wall 6 to maintain the closure in closed position.

The bottom member B is formed of heavy fiber, or its lower face is covered with fiber, and near its outer edges it is thickened by a depending portion I2 which has an inner circular periphery I3 to define a circular recess I4. A circular base or lower supporting plate I 5 is revolubly disposed within the recess I 4 and is held in accurately spaced relation to the member 8, by a boltr I6. The lower head of the bolt coacts with the lower face of the plate I5, and saidbolt has a reduced upper threaded end forming a shoulder I'I coacting with a washer I8 secured tothe center of the trunk base 8. The 'shoulder I'I of the bolt I 6 may be pulled into snug engagement with the Washer I8 by a nut I 9 coacting with the threaded bolt end and with a washer 20, and a lock washer 2| may be inserted between the VWasher 20 and the nut I9. A cotter pin 22 may also be utilized to prevent release of the nut I9, thus insuring rigid attachment of the bolt I6 tothe trunk.

For the support of the trunk, the lower face of the plate i5 has depending therefrom a plurality of spaced, cupped, supporting feet 23. The cupped portions of these feet 23 register with recesses 24 in the member I5. In each recess 24 there is disposed a roller bearing 25 Vwhich is rotatably mounted in a bracket 26 extending into and stra-ddling a recess 24. The flange portions of a bracket 26 are secured to the plate I5 by pins 2'I which also pass through the flanges of a foot 23 and also serve vas the securing means therefor, As shown best in Fig. 5, the major portion of a roller bearing 25 is conned Within a recess 24, but said roller bearing projects slightly above the top surface of the member I5 and engages the lower face of the trunk bottom 8, which rides on said bearings. v The space between the members 8 and I5 is, however, minimized.

When the trunk is restingupon the base plate I5 through the intermediary rollers 25, the entire assemblage may be slid' along the floor, the feet 23 taking the Wear While the trunk proper is elevated from the oor suiiciently to prevent damaging thereof. If it is desired to obtain Aaccess to either of the trunk compartments, this may be done from any point around the trunk, by merely rotating the same upon the base plate I5 and about the central axis of the pivot bolt I6. As the trunk is rotated, the lower face of the bottom member 8 rides on the turnable rollers 25 mounted within the base plate. The rotatable support is compact because the lower plate I5 seats within the recess I4, and because of the recessed mountings for the rollers 25, there is little clearance between the adjacent faces of the members 8 and I5. The entire assembly is rendered very stable and tipping tendency is resisted by said low and compact mounting. The structure is simple and is easy to assemble, and parts thereof are accessible. The roller bearings contact the member 8 in a line, and wear is min imized. The improved construction presents a neat appearance, can be applied to any standard Wardrobe trunk, and has proven highly satisfactory in use.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact details of construction herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the claim may occur to persons skilled in the art.

What is claimed as the invention is:-

In a rotatable trunk having a rigid, integral bottom member, a base plate below said bottom member, said base plate being formed, inwardly of the surface adjacent the bottom, with a plurality of spaced, individual recesses, bearing brackets extending into said recesses, roller bearings journaled in said brackets within said recesses and coacting directly with a surface of said bottom, a supporting foot depending from the under side of the plate below each recess, common means for securing each bracket and foot thereadjacent directly to said plate, and a pivot bolt directly connecting said plate and said trunk bottom member.

JULIUS RITTER, JR. 

